FUNDING proposed by the UK Government to hang the King’s portrait across buildings could instead provide more than three million free school meals in Scotland.
This comes as the UK Government announced plans to spend £8 million on hanging portraits of King Charles in government-owned buildings across the UK, including Scottish schools.
With the average cost of a school meal in Scotland at £2.35 (£2.28 for primary, £2.42 for secondary), the proposed funding would be enough to provide 3.4 million free school meals to Scottish pupils.
The money could also fund 253 new teachers in Scotland, with a starting salary of £31,584.
The latest figures from the Scottish Government – dating from 2022 – show that there are 705,874 pupils in Scotland.
If the £8m were reallocated to providing school meals, every pupil in Scotland would have a weeks’ worth of meals for free.
Schools in Scotland spend on average £8500 per pupil each year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The money proposed by the UK Government to hang the King’s portrait would cover the yearly spending of 941 pupils.
In addition to pupil expenses for food, stationary and items of furniture, schools also have to budget for technology equipment.
Many councils across Scotland have launched initiatives to provide pupils with their own iPad, to support their learning and tackle digital inequality.
The £8m proposed portrait funding would provide 16,032 new iPads to schools across Scotland.
